Envision 2020

The future can be envisioned and realized today. Envision 2020 is an exciting new initiative which will set the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Kentucky on an inspiring new path as well as continue the conversation on what we envision a college of excellence to be. This dynamic new initiative will also expand UK’s overall plan to obtain a top 20 status by the end of the decade by showcasing the strengths and new direction of the College of Arts & Sciences.

The steps we take today will put us on the path to creating a dynamic, purposeful, and relevant college in the future. The College we envision will be defined by four characteristics: innovative preparation for life and career, creative multidisciplinary research, connectivity with the world, and active community engagement.

This is an exciting time in the College – one where we will build a blueprint of the future together with faculty, students, alumni, and the community. Please join us on this exciting journey!

A defining characteristic of the future will be the need for individuals to navigate ever-changing global and local environments. With our breadth of subject matters and areas of research, from the humanities through the social sciences, mathematics, and natural sciences, the college will continue to provide an excellent broad-based liberal arts education. Our goal is to foster individuals who, regardless of their chosen career and field, are inventive, flexible, dynamic, and both willing and able to be active participants in and contributors to their communities and societies.

Creativity and research is at the core of our mission. All of the faculty members in the College of Arts & Sciences are deeply involved in advancing knowledge. The results of their research emanating from labs, the classroom, archives, and computer screens contribute to a better understanding of national and global issues. We will encourage multidisciplinary lines of inquiry and interdisciplinary and inter-collegial collaborations, not just on pressing global issues, but in all scholarship we pursue. This knowledge will expand the boundaries of understanding while also contributing to a better world.

In response to an increasingly interconnected world, the College will cultivate an international presence and educate students to be world-ready, socially responsible citizens. We will do this through the multidisciplinary study of both world issues and other regions of the world and how these issues and regions tie to life in Kentucky. As citizens, we must prepare the next generation to become conversant with varied, historical, social, and cultural events and perspectives, able to make connections across geographic and cultural boundaries, and have the ability to move between the world beyond Kentucky and contexts at home.

The intersection of society and the individual must take root in the college. Not only will we reach out to our local communities, the Commonwealth, the nation, and the world, but we will also draw the world into the life of the College. The interdisciplinary, multicultural, and technological resources of the College will be made available, to students and their families, and to individuals and local communities and organizations in Kentucky. A&S, working in conjunction with its sister colleges, will create, facilitate, and network “womb to tomb” experiences and opportunities for students, alumni, friends, fans, and the greater UK/Lexington community.